Starting February 1, Cigna will no longer require preauthorization for CT angiography (CTA) of the heart, coronary arteries, and bypass grafts with contrast material including 3D image postprocessing.
Cigna's new policy change adds coverage of cardiac structure and morphology evaluation, cardiac function assessment, and evaluation of venous structures, if performed.
Among other policy changes at Cigna, fractional flow reserve CT no longer requires preauthorization either. Lastly, the firm removed preauthorization requirements for Current Procedural Terminology code 75574 in all markets with Cigna eviCore healthcare except for Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Of course, patients must meet certain requirements to qualify for these procedures including having stable chest pain and intermediate risk of coronary artery disease, Cigna said.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
